During its monthly open meeting in June, the five-member Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) indicated that it no longer plans to complete cumulative impact analyses when conducting environmental reviews of projects.
The change was announced in an order approving the Eastern Gas Transmission and Storage Project.
FERC Commissioner Chang wrote a separate concurrence to make clear that the Commission still has a legal obligation to assess proposed projects within the context of other existing or planned activities.
Donald Trump recently issued an executive order that directed the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) to rescind its National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) regulations.
CEQ subsequently issued a rule removing its NEPA implementing regulations and directed agencies, including FERC, to update their NEPA procedures within 12 months.
Federal energy regulators said they plan to scale back cumulative environmental reviews for new energy projects, following a landmark Supreme Court ruling from last year.
FERC’s chair, Laura Swett, said the analyses FERC has been doing exceed National Environmental Policy Act standards.
NEPA “does not require the commission to complete a cumulative effects analysis, and we are no longer going to waste valuable staff and applicant time and money doing an analysis that is not necessary under the law,” said Swett.
“The projects that require approval from FERC do not exist in a vacuum,” said Sierra Club’s Director of Beyond Fossil Fuels Policy Mahyar Sorour. “It would be both misguided and dangerous to pretend as if the pollution from a proposed project would not exacerbate the harmful impacts of existing and planned activities in a particular area. Pollution from oil and gas infrastructure contributes to poor health, perpetuates the climate crisis, and impacts the lives and livelihoods of people who live, work and recreate nearby.”
The White House wants federal energy regulators to act fast on data centers, so commissioners are also pushing to get them running and to manage the nation’s rapidly rising electricity demand.
The commission imposed a June deadline to roll out a regulatory proposal aimed at accelerating the build-out of AI infrastructure, and it may even direct who pays for multibillion-dollar grid upgrades.
Swett echoed President Donald Trump’s willingness to push the boundaries of federal authority in shaping the U.S. energy economy with a move that could shift the balance of regulatory power away from the states.
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